In the Midnight Hour
by Langus
Summary: Breaking Dawn epilogue - for those eager to know what happened after 'The End'. Join Bella as she gives Edward an anniversary gift he'll never forget. One-shot. Rated for mature content.


Note: This fic contains MAJOR spoilers. If you have not read to the end of the fourth book in the series, _Breaking Dawn_, and you don't want to be spoiled, please don't read.

_In the Midnight Hour_

_- A _Twilight_ One-shot -_

I was nervous.

Far more nervous than I should have been, given the circumstances. Eager for a distraction, I re-arranged the sheets on our bed for the third time.

This night was the result of months of tedious, careful planning. It hadn't been easy to keep it from him. When your husband hears the thoughts of others as easily as one breathes, it makes it difficult to keep anything a secret for long.

As far as I could tell, Emmett and Alice had done their part. Knowing better than to ask why, Emmett had whole-heartedly agreed to my request that he take Edward on a few out-of-state hunting trips during the preceding months.

Alice had been more than helpful as well by "accidentally" slipping Edward images of anniversary gifts I had no intention of giving him.

With the bed re-made, I re-adjusted the knot on the silk robe I wore and took a turn about our bedroom. Despite the years that'd passed, we remained in the quaint cottage Carlisle and Esme had given us for my nineteenth-birthday. It'd been too difficult, near impossible, actually, to distance ourselves from the small town that'd become such an important part of us.

Forks, Washington. Population 3,201.

It was comforting to have the Cullens near by, still very much the close knit family they'd been the day we first met. Charlie and Sue Clearwater weren't far either, just down the road into town. They were even closer if I ran.

But the main reason we couldn't bear to leave had more to do with a certain little girl who was not so little anymore.

The cottage was quiet, but if I listened closely I could still hear Renesmee's laughter ringing in the main room. She'd left a year prior to join Jacob on the Quileute reserve at La Push, much to Edward's chagrin. He didn't like the idea of his "little one" growing up so fast.

Seeing her happy and so at peace with her decision, and the joy it brought Jacob, made the pain of separation tolerable for all three of us. We were a close family, Renesmee, Jacob, Edward and I. I didn't think there would ever come a time when we'd be able to part ways permanently.

Ten years.

I breathed out a sigh in a whoosh. It had all gone by so fast. It felt like I'd only just been changed, that I'd only just begun to discover the wonders this new life held for me, and yet ten years had already vanished.

Ten years means little when you have the promise of forever with the one you love, but it was hard to see the years on the faces of those I'd loved in my mortal life.

Charlie had more wrinkles around his eyes; distinct laugh lines that hadn't been there when I'd first moved to Forks. There was grey in his moustache now too, and wisps of silver intermingled with the dark hair at his temples.

Jacob had lost all the roundness of his youthful features and now possessed the chiseled visage of a fully grown man. Even his voice had become a deep and rumbling baritone.

My mind drifted next to my daughter, the only child I would ever have. Renesmee…

While Edward and I remained fixed, forever unchanging in our appearance, in ten years she'd grown enough for both of us combined. It only took seven of those years for her to blossom from a girl who wore flower patterned dressed designed by Alice and Rosalie, into a fully grown woman. It wouldn't be long before she became a wife and mother herself.

Thankfully, I had a three year reprieve before any developments were made in that regard. I'd extracted the promise from Jacob myself, with perhaps a little more force than was necessary. I laughed quietly as I remembered the look of terror in his eyes. An easy going nature paired with unnatural strength meant that it took a lot to scare Jacob. Apparently castration at the hands of a livid mother was enough to do the trick.

Only three more years… I envisioned Renesmee being escorted down the aisle on Edward's arm, wearing a strapless off-white wedding gown. The thought made the breath catch in my throat and if I'd possessed a beating heart in my chest, it would have swelled with pride.

There was a time when I'd worried that this future wouldn't be possible, but that time had long since passed. We hadn't seen or heard from the Volturi since our last encounter. Enough wanderers had dropped by to extend their words of support that I didn't feel the need to concern myself over them again.

Outside our little cottage, the night was stirring to life. Insects chirped loudly in the long grasses just beyond the front door while the wind whispered quietly through the trees. I listened closely for the sound of his footsteps on the well worn path from the Cullen main house to our own. He would be returning soon from his most recent hunting trip with Emmett.

As if on cue I heard the familiar cadence of his footsteps across the forest floor, discernible only to my own ears. He was moving quickly, not quite running but his pace was a healthy jaunt. It seemed he was nearly as eager as I was to get our celebration underway.

My eyes took one last appraising glance around the room to ensure everything was in order. It was. I'd spent all day ensuring it was so. Feeling wistful, I grazed my hand over the glossy, polished wood of our mahogany bedpost and smiled.

We lived a wonderfully blessed existence, so much so that at times it felt too much like a dream. If I ever slept I would have feared waking up one morning to discover that this reality of mine was exactly that, nothing more than a dream.

Thankfully, my kind didn't sleep. That part had helped immensely when I was preparing myself for this night.

It'd taken longer than I'd thought it would to learn how to control my innate power to the extent that I could bend it to my will. Edward would be the first to benefit from my newly acquired skills.

An easy smile graced my lips as I remembered a time when it'd taken all of my concentration just to extend the invisible, rubber band like shield around my own body. I could now remove it entirely, displace it from my mind and project it around another. It moved as an extension of my body, fluid in form and utterly obedient. I no longer struggled to control it as I once had and in the future I imagined I would extend my shield around the members of our house, giving Edward a much-needed mental break when he desired one.

My stomach flip-flopped nervously as I played over in my mind what I'd planned for tonight. It was my version of an anniversary present, one that I hoped he would appreciate far more than any material bobble I could have found for him.

When you're as wealthy as the Cullen family, material possessions don't mean much. A diamond is just another rock, a car just another toy. When it came to giving gifts in our family, it truly was the thought that counted (particularly when thanks to Edward and Alice, what you gave was known before you even gave it).

I drifted out of my thoughts the moment I felt him watching me silently from the doorway.

I closed my eyes and envisioned how he would look – with one arm braced against the door frame and the other extended towards me in preparation for a warm embrace. His eyes would be swimming and golden, like liquid honey, after such an extended hunt - a symbol of his satiated thirst. I'd made a point to feed as well, in the hopes that it would be several days before we had to think of quenching our thirsts again.

"Bella."

When he spoke my name, it shivered over me like a caress. Even after so many years, his voice still sounded like rich velvet to my ears. The way he said my name it was nearly a term of endearment, spoken with the same emotion as one would say "darling" or "love".

I turned to face him and suppressed a smile when I saw that he stood exactly how I'd envisioned him.

"Did you enjoy your weekend with Emmett?" I asked casually as I made my way to him.

He smiled broadly and wrapped his arms around me the moment I stepped within reach.

"I did," he answered, placing a kiss into my hair. "What of you? Did you enjoy yourself here?"

He pulled back just enough so that he could peer down into my face. I stared up into his topaz eyes and marvelled at how the beauty in them was still able to take my breath away. Suddenly finding myself unable to speak, I merely nodded and offered a warm smile.

Without hesitation, he touched his lips to mine in a tender kiss before stepping fully into our bedroom.

"I've missed you," he confessed with every measure of sincerity. I nodded because the feeling was mutual. No matter how short the absence, it was never easy on either of us.

"Me too."

He waited until he'd seated me on the edge of the bed before taking my hand in his and saying the words he'd been waiting all weekend to utter.

"Happy anniversary."

I looked up into his face and saw only pure happiness reflected back at me. Did anyone deserve to be as blissfully happy as us? For the moment I was willing to greedily accept whatever fate was willing to provide.

"I have something for you," he added, his expression turning into one of impish excitement.

I sighed to indulge him, never letting on for a moment that I too had a gift to share – one he'd never expect. I'd become better over time at the whole lying thing. Sometimes, I even managed to convince him (though it certainly helped he couldn't hear my thoughts as he did the others).

"Oh?" I wondered, working hard to keep my tone light and casual despite the butterflies swirling in my stomach.

He nodded once and asked that I close my eyes. I shot him a sly look before complying and listened carefully as his near silent footsteps exited our bedroom, moved beyond the kitchen, past the living room, and came to a halt in the far corner of the house where we kept the sports equipment tucked away.

_Figures_, I thought. _He _would_ hide my present in the one place I'd never look_.

Unfortunately my love for organized sports, or lack thereof, hadn't changed much since my mortal days.

A half second later he was at my side once more, pressing something cool and hard into my hands.

"Okay," he said, sounding unsure for the first time since his arrival. "Open your eyes."

The first thing my eyes met was his warm, golden-hued orbs. I saw my face reflected back in them and the curiosity in my own expression. I followed his gaze down to the gift he'd placed in my hands and gasped.

It was a box, small and wooden. The wood itself was dark and smooth and I ghosted my hand over the finely sanded contours. I wondered if it was made of olive wood, no doubt imported. The intricate design that'd been carved into the rounded lid reminded me of another wood carving I'd been given many years ago.

My eyes drifted to the bracelet that never left my wrist, its two charms dangling from either side – Edward's diamond and Jacob's wolf. Lifting an eyebrow, I regarded the gift with a new sense of curiosity.

"Did Jake-?" I began to ask, but he was quick to shake his head. If he could have blushed I think he would have in that moment.

"Yes and no," he confessed. "He showed me how and I did the rest myself."

Ah, that explained it then. Was there anything he couldn't do? I ran my fingers over the grooves that'd been cut into the wood. They traced the intricate pattern of two roses, hopelessly entwined for all eternity. Edward and I.

It was breathtaking, yet simple. It was so "Edward" that had my eyes been able, they would've shed tears.

Instead, I crushed him against me in a breathless hug of that left us both giddy.

"I take it you like it then?" he asked cautiously, though the smug smile tugging at the corners of his lips told me my expression was easily read.

"Oh Edward, I love it!" I gushed while my hands lifted open the top of the box. As I did so, the song that he'd written for me, the one that was my lullaby, sang out in a sweet harmony. It was enough to make my eyes sting with unshed tears once more.

"I figured you should have a place to store my gifts to you. Something to keep our memories safe."

I nodded, unable, for the moment, to find the right words to express my gratitude.

"It's perfect," I breathed finally.

He caught my face between his palms and covered it in delicate, reverent kisses, only touching my lips once he had covered every other surface.

"Such a simple gift hardly does you justice."

I smiled meekly at his words of adoration. I was still not entirely comfortable reconciling the fact that I was no longer an ordinary human with what I was now – a frighteningly beautiful vampire, just as he was.

With a subtle movement, I set his gift on the table next to my side of the bed. It was hard to keep my smile in check as I imagined what his reaction to my present would be.

"I have a gift for you too," I promised as I slowly rose to my feet.

He was already objecting, certain, thanks to Alice, that I'd gone and purchased some rare expensive trinket for the occasion.

"Love, every day I spend with you is gift enough," he placated, gesturing for me to join him once more on the bed.

I ignored him and worked loose the ties of my robe.

Words like those dripped off his tongue like honey. It was so easy for him to speak what was in his heart now that I was one of them. The memories I had from my human life, memories of a cautious Edward, one who I thought was more difficult to decode than a cryptic puzzle, seemed a far and distant illusion.

Had it ever been difficult for me to read the love that shone in his eyes? At times I had to wonder how I could have possibly been blind to it before.

The navy hued robe slipped silently from my shoulders to the floor, pooling like water at my feet. Beneath I wore a new set of lingerie. Alice, of course, had helped me pick it out for the occasion. She'd had it shipped over from Paris and couldn't stop gushing about the designer. I was never one to remember that sort of thing, but I liked that it was blue, Edward's favourite colour, and the way it made his eyes widen with appreciation.

"Do you like it?" I wondered as my fingers played with the lace. He nodded and swallowed; his lack of words more compliment than anything he might've said.

Before he had the opportunity to rise, I made my way back to him and sat across his lap. His hands cradled me with ease, one at my waist and the other around my thigh. It wasn't long before his nose nuzzled the underside of my jaw, followed by his lips. The trail they left down the column of my throat made my thoughts disjointed. It took a great deal of effort to compose myself and school my expression.

"Edward, there's something I'd like to show you."

Perhaps "show" wasn't the right word. I amended my words slightly. "Something I'd like to share."

"Oh?"

His response mimicked my earlier one, but judging by the fervent touch of his lips to my collarbone and the way his hand had begun to move up my thigh he wasn't paying much attention to my words.

"Yes," I replied, determined to keep my words brief. He looked up then, wearing an indulgent smile.

"Share away."

I could tell by his nonchalance that he hadn't a clue what to expect. Inwardly I smiled, victorious, but my face registered only the lightest of smiles.

While still situated comfortably in his lap I took to unbuttoning his shirt, one meticulous button at a time. I was certain he found the pace frustratingly tedious. Generally when he returned from an extended hunting trip with Emmett, if our clothes remained in tact at all it was something of a miracle.

"I think a human could do this faster," he joked, capturing my hand in his.

I brushed off his touch and continued my deliberately slow pace.

"Shhh, you're ruining the moment."

He chuckled quietly at that and made a motion as if to seal his lips shut. He let me continue without complaint, moving only to help me slip his shirt off his back. I took my time placing feather-light kisses against the smooth, unblemished skin of his shoulders and the hollow of his throat. A shiver rippled down his spine when my teeth grazed the spot where his artery had once pulsed with human blood, sending it teeming through his veins.

His hands knotted into my hair suddenly, pulling my head away so he could crush his lips desperately against my own. I could taste the blood of his earlier kill on them and the need behind their touch. I was pushing every limit of his self control, and I knew it.

"Love…" he began to warn me, but I cut him off with a kiss.

"Be patient," I whispered, promise ringing through my tone.

He nodded once and sighed heavily. I smiled against the skin of his neck as I placed another secret kiss there. It was almost too much fun tormenting him like this. I was hardly being fair, but it wasn't often that he let me have my way.

Using gentle nudges, I urged him back across the bed until he was lying propped up against the pillows with my body straddling his hips. The rest of his clothes were removed with less deliberation on my part. I was eager to get on with the show too.

Finally ready, I pulled in a deep breath and let it out slowly. I may have improved over these past years, but getting this right would still require some degree of concentration on my part.

"I love you." I spoke softly and my eyes locked with his as I arranged our bodies into a more intimate position.

He smiled at me with a look of utter adoration and replied, "Nearly as much as I love you."

The first thrust when we joined was always the most powerful, emotionally and physically. I felt it through my whole being the moment he filled me – body and soul. I always felt complete in that first, fleeting moment and this feeling was what I wanted to share with him.

I closed my eyes to savour the moment and also to concentrate on the shield that kept my thoughts my own. With a little effort I lifted it away and pushed it out of my mind, clearing my thoughts until they were filled with nothing but him.

I knew he would experience everything now through my eyes; all the love and the longing, the pleasure and indescribable emotions that followed that first intimate movement of our bodies.

I heard him gasp in surprise and opened my eyes slowly. He was staring up at me in wonder, his face filled with surprise, and then more gradually, understanding.

"I thought you needed absolute concentration for this to work," he teased, rocking his hips up to meet my body. I gasped at the sudden jolt of pleasure that shot through my stomach and he gasped too, feeling everything now as I did.

"I did. I've been working on it," I countered, pulling his hands to my hips.

"So I see."

He grinned mischievously, impressed by my newfound control as well as my ability to keep this from him. As our bodies continued to move in tandem, his expression grew thoughtful and eventually he closed his eyes.

With my mind open to him this way, it was as though we were no longer two separate beings. Rather, we were one body, one mind. When pleasure rocked my senses, they rocked his twice over. When I gasped, he couldn't help but gasp as well.

Once we'd settled into the rhythm of our movements, I began to concentrate not only on the present, but my memories of the past as well. I teased them out, one by one, sharing with him ten years worth of experiences.

Each sigh, each scream and gasp were played back for him through my eyes; eyes that marveled at the perfection of his form; eyes that saw him as the very incarnation of beauty, both inside and out; eyes that loved him far more than any other ever had or could.

Already his body was tense under mine. His senses were being bombarded by an almost constant onslaught of moments of shared ecstasy, both past and present. It wasn't just his own pleasure he felt, but mine as well. Were the roles reversed I doubt I would have lasted as long.

Determined to share one last thing, I searched through the murkier waters of my human memories. There were two in particular that I wanted to show him, two that I'd never been able to make him see from my perspective. They were the nights we'd shared together on our honeymoon. They'd been the happiest nights of my human existence and yet when he recalled them the memories were filled with sentiments of guilt and horror.

I began with the second night, first. He'd been more in control that time and I'd walked away with no new bruises to mar my pale skin.

I remembered the way my body had felt so painfully alive beneath his and the way the pleasure had coursed through my veins like wildfire. I'd felt half mad, writhing and squirming under him as I had, but I'd hardly been able to help myself.

I heard the breath catch in his throat as I remembered how that particular orgasm had felt, how all encompassing it'd been. My body had felt numb afterward, so numb that I wondered if I'd ever be able to move my limbs again.

As though he sensed what was coming next, Edward sat up suddenly and pulled my body against his. With one hand pressed into the small of my back and the other buried in my hair, he pressed his lips to my ear and whispered a fervent plea.

"Bella… Please…"

"No," I whispered back. "I want you to see this. Just this once."

He sighed in resignation, a sure sign that he would not fight me on this. I was just stubborn enough that I might bring it up again on another occasion if given the chance. Better to get it over with now, was probably what he was thinking.

I was more careful presenting this second memory to him. I began slowly, showing him every detail he didn't know - from my confusion at the suitcase full of lingerie Alice had packed for me, to my quasi-panic attack on the bathroom floor.

He felt the butterflies fluttering in my stomach and the heart hammering its staccato rhythm in my chest as I'd walked out to the beach in nothing but a towel, confident that he would take care of me.

I remembered how safe I'd felt in his arms, and how excited I'd been to finally touch the body I'd longed for.

Once my memory shifted to the bedroom was where things got dicey. This was the part he hated to remember the most. Not because it hadn't been enjoyable for him, but because he blamed himself for losing control.

It was time he understood just how wonderful that night had been for me. Words alone were not enough to convince him - I'd spent ten years trying. The only way he would understand was if I showed him, so I did.

I showed him the way he'd looked so beautiful to me in the moonlight, with droplets of water and sand still glistening off his skin. I showed him how careful he'd been when he'd embraced me, and how he'd caressed my body with the softest of touches.

There was no pain, or fear, on my part. There was only bliss. Bliss and ecstasy and love – three things he needed to feel through my eyes to believe. Whatever bruises may have shown up in the morning, I had felt no pain the night before. I'd felt only fulfillment. I'd felt complete and whole for the first time in my life. Whatever had been missing from my existence suddenly wasn't missing any longer and it was entirely because of him.

With a rueful smile tugging at my lips, I brought the memory of my first orgasm to the forefront of my thoughts. He tightened his hold on my hips, pulling me down to meet him as he felt, as I had felt on that night, the pleasure-filled endorphins rushing through my human veins.

My body had arched uncontrollably, bound completely to a will of its own. His name was torn from my lips in a gasp of ecstasy as my lungs struggled to find enough air to breathe. And beneath him my body had twitched and shuddered and slowly wrapped itself around his until my limbs became like jelly and my thoughts dazed.

The memory ended there because I'd drifted off into the most peaceful sleep of my existence immediately afterward. I realized now how taboo this was of course, but at the time I hadn't known any better and he'd indulged me, completely willing to forgive my lack of social grace.

Drifting back to the present, it was hard not to notice the way his arms had tightened around me. He was breathing quickly, pulling air into his lungs at a frantic rate.

"Is that," he began and swallowed thickly, "Is that how it really happened?"

I laughed lightly and captured his face between my hands, forcing him to meet my gaze. There was so much vulnerability swimming in his eyes, I was eager to dispel it as soon as possible.

"Yes," I promised, "Only the truth."

His eyes searched mine for a moment and then he nodded to himself. I smiled broadly, thankful that he finally understood. I hoped now that the best night of my human existence could finally be a happy memory for him as well.

Feeling the stirrings of need in my own body, I realized it wouldn't be much longer before I found myself lost in the abyss of another blissful orgasm. Determined to take him along for the ride, I opened my mind to him completely.

Every touch, every kiss bestowed upon me, every time he reached the deepest parts of me, it was felt by him as well. And when that wasn't enough, I brought back all of my previous memories, climaxing in my mind a thousand times over, allowing him to feel the raw pleasure that'd accompanied each one.

"Bella…"

My name came out as a strangled moan and I knew what was coming. I could feel it too, building within me until I felt ready to explode from the pressure. Wrapping my arms around him, I concentrated on sharing it all with him and for the first time I made a request of him through thought alone.

_Come with me Edward, please. Let's jump off that cliff together. _

I didn't need to wait for his answer. The words had barely formed in my mind before we were there, together, standing at the edge of that endless abyss. Hand in hand we jumped, throwing ourselves into it with reckless abandon, not caring for a moment what happened afterward.

It felt as though eternity had stretched somehow and shifted to make room for us in a space that was not limited by time. It may have been hours before I opened my eyes again, or maybe only minutes, or seconds – it was impossible to tell. Judging by the blank expression on his face, his thoughts were just as hazy as my own.

His fingers stroked my spine in a soothing gesture, likely the only movement he was able to conjure up for the time being. To his credit, he was doing better than I was. I could barely move my eyelids to blink.

"Is that what you were planning all this time?" he wondered aloud. His voice sounded rougher than its usual velvety texture.

I nodded, unsure for the moment if the mental shield that blocked my thoughts from him had slipped back into place.

"Did you like it?"

He was quiet a moment while he thought his words over. For not the first time since I met him, I wished I shared his innate ability to read minds.

"There aren't words enough to describe how incredible that felt," he concluded finally, with a touch of disappointment behind the awe.

"To see it through your eyes… To feel everything just as you felt it... Your thoughts… I had no idea…"

With his words so disconnected, it was hard to discern exactly what he was trying to say. Ultimately he shook his head with a breathy laugh and settled on the easiest way to express his sentiments.

"Thank you."

I nodded against his chest and breathed in the subtle scent of him that I'd grown to love so much.

"Happy anniversary."

"Speaking of which…," he began and quickly swapped our places with a growl. Dazed, I stared up at him from the bed and caught the playful gleam in his eye.

"I think it's time we made some new memories to add to your collection, don't you?"

He lowered his lips to mine, bearing the promise of many more pleasure-filled nights to come, and I willingly resigned myself to my fate.

* * *

_Author's Note: _Well, that was my first (and possibly last?) fic for the _Twilight_ genre. I'd really appreciate any feedback since this is my first attempt at a fan fic based off novel characters.

Like it or hate it, I'd appreciate a review on your way out :)

- Langus

Selected Listening:

(I listened to these while I was writing this. Feel free to take 'em for a spin).

Sigur Ros – Godan Daginn

Sigur Ros – Svo Hljott


End file.
